NHL Hockey Player News

Shesterkin will return to the Rangers crease on Friday against the Philadelphia Flyers. The 2021-22 Vezina winner has been overshined by backup, and 2011-12 Vezina runner-up, Jonathan Quick, who was sensational in the Rangers' last outing, saving 32 shots for a 1-0 shutout victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Since returning from injury, Shesterkin has allowed seven goals in two games (1-1-0), posting an uncharacteristic .896 SV%. That said, the Rangers have points in 11 of their last 12 games (10-1-1) and are -137 road favourites Friday afternoon.

After missing two games with a knee injury, Barkov was a full participant at practice and should return to the lineup on Friday against the Winnipeg Jets. Barkov is expected to return to his familiar place on the Panthers' top line with Sam Reinhart and Evan Rodrigues. Before his injury, Barkov was lighting it up with 11 points (5G / 6A) in his last 10 games.

Korpisalo appears to still be nursing an undisclosed injury that kept him from dressing in the second game of the NHL Global Series in Sweden on November 18th. The Senators have recalled Mads Sogaard to serve as the backup to Anton Forsberg in the interim. The Senators will hope Korpisalo can return soon as he was finally starting to find his footing this season, posting a 4-2-0 record and a .921 SV% in his last eight appearances.

Raanta exited Wednesday's contest for precautionary reasons associated with a lower-body concern but seems no worse for wear as he will likely start on Friday against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Injury concerns are always a worry with Raanta, but so long as he is healthy, he should continue to see a fair share of action in the Hurricanes crease. In his last six outings (5-1-0), Raanta has allowed only 12 goals and registered a .912 SV%, strong numbers for any netminder on a Hurricanes team that leads the league in shot suppression (25.8 SA / GP).

Joonas Korpisalo was not present at the morning skate and as a result, Forsberg will likely be the starting goalie on Friday against the New York Islanders. Friday's matchup marks the Senators' first game since returning from the NHL Global Series in Sweden, where Forsberg played exceptionally well, saving 24 of 25 shots in a 2-1 victory over the Minnesota Wild. The Senators will hope Forsberg can build off his most recent performance because he struggled immensely in his three games prior (0-3-0), allowing 13 goals on only 51 shots (.745 SV%). Forsberg and the Senators are -121 home favourites against an Islanders team that ranks third worst in the league offensively (2.56 GF / GP).

Luukkonen has played well in his last three appearances (1-1-0), saving 74 of 79 shots (.937 SV%), and will likely be rewarded with a start on Friday. Luukkonen has easily been the most consistent of three Sabres' netminders this season, posting a 2.80 GAA and .911 SV% through nine contests (4-3-1). The Sabres are +111 home underdogs against a Pittsburgh Penguins team without Rickard Rakell and Bryan Rust and is coming off a 1-0 loss to the New York Rangers on Wednesday. In addition, Luukkonen played admirably against the Penguins on November 11th despite a 4-0 loss, saving 36 of 39 shots (.923 SV%).

Rutta logged just 4:17 TOI before leaving Wednesday's game. If he's unavailable for Friday's game vs. Montreal, expect Marc-Edouard Vlasic to play for the first time since November 14th.

MacKinnon was reportedly carted to the X-ray room following Wednesday's game but no update was provided on his status. Until the Avalanche discloses any information on MacKinnon, consider him questionable to play Friday in Minnesota.

Primeau will start for the fourth time this season and the first time since allowing six goals on 42 shots (.857 SV%) in a 6-5 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on November 16th. Primeau has had mixed results this season, posting a 3.97 GAA and .885 SV% through three games (1-2-0), but will get an opportunity to shine Friday afternoon against the low-scoring San Jose Sharks. The Sharks have scored one goal or fewer in 13 of their 19 games this season, ranking 32nd in the league offensively, scoring only 1.47 goals per game.

Vasilevskiy has yet to make an appearance in 2023-24 as he recovers from a back injury but is expected to be activated off the injured reserve Friday after Matt Tomkins was placed on waivers Thursday. The 29-year-old six-time NHL wins leader will make a welcome return to Tampa's roster, where he was 34-22-4 with a 2.65 GAA and .915 SV% in 60 GP in 2022-23.

Poturalski did not appear in a game for the Kraken and has been reassigned to Coachella Valley (AHL) Thursday. The 29-year-old returns to the Firebirds where he had two goals, seven points, and a +2 plus/minus in 10 games prior to his original promotion.

Klingberg has been out for the Maple Leafs' previous two games due to a hip injury and has been placed on the long-term injured reserve Thursday. The 31-year-old signed a one-year, $4,150,000 contract with Toronto in the offseason and had zero goals, five assists, 14 SOG, eight PIMs and a -7 plus/minus in 14 games prior to his injury.

Steeves has been enjoying an excellent start to his 2023-24 season in Toronto (AHL) with 11 goals, seven assists, six PIMs, and a -2 plus/minus through 14 games played and has been recalled to the Maple Leafs Thursday. The 23-year-old has six career NHL games under his belt and has an assist and five SOG while averaging only 7:55 TOI.

De Leo has been out since the preseason due to a knee injury and was placed on waivers Wednesday with the purpose of assigning him to San Diego (AHL). The 28-year-old has not appeared in the NHL since 2021-22 with New Jersey but had nine goals and 23 points in 22 games with Utica (AHL) last season.

Tomkins was placed on waivers Thursday in a move that would indicate Andrei Vasileskiy's return from injury. The 29-year-old is expected to be assigned to Syracuse (AHL) if he does pass through waivers after posting a 1-2-0 record, 3.40 GAA, and .889 SV% in three games with Tampa Bay.

Lettieri had two goals, 14 SOG, four PIMs, and a -4 plus/minus in 11 games in 2023-24 but has been placed on waivers Thursday. The 28-year-old forward will likely return to Iowa (AHL) if unclaimed, where he has a goal and three points through four games this season prior to his call-up.

Jarnkrok blocked a shot in practice Wednesday and will be a game-time decision Friday in Chicago. The 32-year-old two-way center has enjoyed a solid start to his 2023-24 season with four goals, five assists, 28 SOG, four PIMs, +5 plus/minus in 17 games played.